String Quartet – Sonata – solo piano

Concerto – large
chamber music Symphony – large or solo instrument
ensemble and
comprised of 4 ensemble with piano
soloist
string players accompaniment

CLASSICAL PERIOD INSTRUMENTAL

GENRES
 Balance in phrasing
Focus on clear melody Absolute music with attention on key structures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCWsNo1QbJg

MUSICAL STYLE CHARACTERISTICS OF

Emphasis on Formal Organization
Common forms = Theme & Variations, ABA/3-part form,
Rondo form, Sonata-allegro form
Importance of musical logic & order

THE CLASSICAL PERIOD 1750-1825

  NEW genre from this style period
 String Quartet is CHAMBER MUSIC
 String quartet shares format of the symphony –
multi-movement
 1st movement = Sonata Allegro form
 2nd movement = Theme & Variations or ABA
 3rd movement = Minuet & Trio or Scherzo & Trio
CLASSICAL
4 movementPERIOD
 th INSTRUMENTAL
= Sonata-allegro or Rondo

GENRES – THE STRING QUARTET

HAYDN – STRING QUARTET,
OP. 33, NO. 2,
(THE JOKE), IV, 1781
• WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:
•Melody: short & in balanced
phrases
• Rhythm/meter: compound duple
• Harmony: major
• Texture: homophonic
• Form: Rondo
• Performing forces: String Quartet
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=zpeQKGoV8cw
 Classical Concerto evolves and
changes from its Baroque form –
 adds a movement – now 4
movements (instead of 3); addition
of a solo “cadenza” that sounds
improvised and displays soloists
virtuosic ability; now performed by
CLASSICAL PERIOD INSTRUMENTAL
orchestra (large group) and soloist
(concertino/small group is gone)
GENRES – THE CONCERTO
3 parts – Exposition (introduction); Development (area
of instability) Recapitulation (return of original music)
Each part is connected to the succeeding part by
specific musical key/tonal center relationships
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G6xMcUUbEA
SONATA FORM
SONATA FORM
MOZART: PIANO CONCERTO IN GM, K. 453, I
 WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:
 Melody: 1st theme lilting; 2nd theme quiet and
lyrical
 Rhythm/meter: march-like quadruple
 Harmony: major, change of key with change of
theme
 Texture: homophony
 Form: concerto form/AKA sonata form with
double exposition
 Performing forces: piano solo & orchestra
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO48Ur3pLc0
 Sonata – 3 or more movement
instrumental work, shares same format
as the concerto
 Sonata written for either solo piano or
solo instrument with piano
accompaniment
 Genre for both amateurs and
performers

CLASSICAL PERIOD INSTRUMENTAL

GENRES – THE SONATA
  Melody: slow moving
 Rhythm/meter: slow duple
 Harmony: minor with modulations
 Texture: homophonic
 Form: modified song form
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=YmVCcF42f-0
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=DHUnLY1_PvM

BEETHOVEN: PIANO SONATA, OP.

27, NO. 2 (MOONLIGHT) I, 1801
 CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTAL GENRES-THE
SYMPHONY
 The Symphony – evolved from sinfonia played during the
prelude before a Baroque opera or during
“intermissions” between acts of Baroque opera
 A Symphony is generally 4 movements that contrast in
tempo
 1st movement = fast and almost always in Sonata Form
(most significant developments of sonata form for the
symphony created by Franz Joseph Haydn 1732-1809)
 2nd movement = slow, Sonata Form or Theme and
Variations Form
 3rd movement = moderate tempo, triple meter, ABA
form, usually based on a dance (the minuet)
 4th movement = fast, Sonata or Rondo form
POSSIBLY THE WORLD’S
MOST FAMOUS SYMPHONY
Symphony #5 in C minor, 1804 by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
MELODY: 4-note motif; developed thematically
RHYTHM/METER: duple (rhythmic thematic motif)
HARMONY: c minor; shifts between dark minor and light major
TEXTURE: mostly homophonic
FORM: sonata-allegro with extended coda; repetition, sequence, and
variation techniques
EXPRESSION: emotional extremes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKl4T5BnhOA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgR2l1Zs-8Y
CLASSICAL PERIOD STYLE AND INSTRUMENTAL
GENRES – SUMMARY
 Music exhibits balance in phrasing (question & answer); Focus on
clear melody - singable, memorable and supported with
homophonic texture; Absolute music with attention on key structures
(ex.: C to G and back to C);Emphasis on Formal Organization of
melodic themes used to aid listener’s musical understanding in a
single hearing; Common forms = Theme & Variations, ABA/3-part
form, Rondo form, Sonata form
 Genres – the symphony, the string quartet, the concerto; and the
sonata
 Known as Absolute Music – most works without programmatic title
 Enduring elegant quality of this music makes it feel timeless
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auP64YEsotw